Saturday, September 13, 2014

Women who don't attend college: your elected officials care more about keeping college women safe from rape than you

American women who don't attend college (that's most of you), wouldn't it be nice if you could accuse a man of sexual assault and, with very little evidence, have him kicked out of the apartment building where he lives, fired from his job, or permanently banned from jogging in the park he frequents, shopping in the stores he shops in, or even living in the town where he lives? Wouldn't it be nice if every accusation of rape were treated as sufficient evidence to exact these sorts of punishments?

So, why are your sisters who attend college afforded the power to effect such punishments while you aren't? Why do they have the ability to get a male classmate expelled from school and banned from campus on the basis of an accusation alone while you don't a similar power to make your environment safe? Why are they allowed to exact a punishment with only a preponderance of the evidence and essentially no due process protections for the accused (including the right to cross-examine his accuser, to keep untrustworthy hearsay evidence from the proceedings, and to be apprised of the evidence to be offered against him in advance of the hearing) while you don't? What makes your sisters who attend college so special?

Feminists on campus have been permitted to create a woman-friendly sexual Nirvana that their female counterparts who don't attend college are denied. From a legal, moral, and practical perspective, what is so special about college that college women should have special rights beyond those afforded to women in these other environments? And how much longer will it be before this asymmetry dawns on feminist lawmakers and they seek to extend the protections beyond college campuses?

Mark my words: due process has been vanquished from our college campuses for men accused of sex offenses, and it will soon be under attack with respect to men everywhere.